Cinnamon Lamb Stew

I've never cooked lamb before, but felt I should try. This recipe also fulfills my desire to incorporate cinnamon into more dishes other than deserts, so it was win-win. Plus, stews are really easy to make and it's almost impossible to overcook a stew. It tasted really good, it's a much sweeter stew than the beef one I've made before.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless lamb stew meat - cubed
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 onion - diced
• 2 carrots - diced
• 2 celery stalks - diced
• 5-6 baby potatoes
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 bay leaf
  

Directions

1. Place the lamb in a bowl or baking dish and toss with cinnamon, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours, or cook immediately.
2. In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté the pieces of lamb in the oil. Meat should be browned on all sides.
3. When all of the meat is browned, add the garlic, carrots, celery, potato, and onion, and cook for about five minutes, stirring, until vegetables start to soften . 
4. Add tomatoes, wine and bay leaf. 
5. When mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and cover. 
6. Cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally or until meat falls apart when squeezed. 
7. Serve with toasted hard rolls (10min at 350 degrees in the oven)

Thoughts:
This is a stew, so like I said, it is easy. I added the potatoes to the recipe and during the process, I added about 1/2 a cup of water about half way through, since the liquid had really cooked down. The recipe also said you could use either red or white wine, but I can't imagine making this with a white.

The recipe originally called to be served over couscous, but I couldn't be bothered to make it, and I like my stews in a bowl. I contemplated adding some flour to the mix at the end to thicken things up, but I decided against it and I think that was a good choice.

Next Time:

• Add 1-2 cups of water while the stew is cooking to produce more broth. (Don't if serving over couscous)
• Add a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper to add a little kick.
• Maybe add peas at the end to provide some color
• Maybe swap the nutmeg for allspice
• Buy actual stew meat as opposed to lamb on the bone and cutting the meat out.

Beef Stew

So this is the Beef Stew that my mother always made when I was growing up. It's one of my favorite cold time foods, but since it makes a lot, it is great to make and then eat all week. The one thing I have not yet mastered is eating it without burning my tongue. You would think eventually I would learn. Mais non.

Serves: 5-6 people from one pot. Depends on how much you put in.

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs of beef chunks (trim off fat and make them roughly the same size)
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic (Or garlic powder for the lazy) - Mince
• 3 small onions (Or 2 larger ones) - Dice
• 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cups water
• 3-4 beef bouillon cubes
• Dash of allspice or cloves
• 1 large carrot - Peel and cube
• 1 small turnip - Peel and cube
• 2 small potatoes - Peel and cube
• Frozen peas

Directions

1. Put the flour, salt, and pepper onto a dinner sized plate
2. Roll the beef chunks into the flour mixture. Save the extra flour mix.
3. In a large pot, heat the oil on high heat and drop in the beef chunks and brown them on all sides. Add oil as needed.
4. After all the beef is in, put in the onions and garlic and the Worcestershire sauce. Make sure this stuff doesn't burn and stick to the pot.
5. When all the above is brown, add the water, bouillon cubes, and allspice/cloves.
6. Lower the heat to very low, leaving everything at a simmer, and cover. Let everything cook for an hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes.
7. After an hour, or when the meat starts to be tender, add the carrot, potatoes, and turnip cubes. If necessary, add a little water. Everything should be thin like soup.
8. Let the vegetables cook 25-30min, stirring once or twice.
9. Once everything is soft and cooked, add in some of the remaining flour a little bit at a time. Very small additions make everything MUCH easier to mix in. Keep adding flour until you get the desired thickness for the stew.
10. 5 minutes before everything is ready, throw in the frozen peas. They don't need long.

Best served with a hard bread, such as a Chicago hard roll (350 for 10minutes will put them at optimum crunchy outside and soft inside). Optional to wait for dish to cool before you consume, but not burning off your taste buds adds to the experience, so I've heard.

Overall, this whole process can take up to two hours, depending on how fast everything gets soft. Since this is a stew, you could add more or change the vegetables or add some new spices, and things won't really change. Everything should be just roughly the same size to aid cooking evenness.